Blowback From Bear-Baiting

Mikheil Saakashvili's decision to use the opening of the Olympic Games to cover Georgia's invasion of its breakaway province of South Ossetia must rank in stupidity with Gamal Abdel-Nasser's decision to close the Straits of Tiran to Israeli ships.

Nasser's blunder cost him the Sinai in the Six-Day War. Saakashvili's blunder probably means permanent loss of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

After shelling and attacking what he claims is his own country, killing scores of his own Ossetian citizens and sending tens of thousands fleeing into Russia, Saakashvili's army was whipped back into Georgia in 48 hours.

Vladimir Putin took the opportunity to kick the Georgian army out of Abkhazia, as well, to bomb Tbilisi and to seize Gori, birthplace of Stalin.

Reveling in his status as an intimate of George Bush, Dick Cheney and John McCain, and America's lone democratic ally in the Caucasus, Saakashvili thought he could get away with a lightning coup and present the world with a fait accompli.

Mikheil did not reckon on the rage or resolve of the Bear.

American charges of Russian aggression ring hollow. Georgia started this fight — Russia finished it. People who start wars don't get to decide how and when they end.

Russia's response was "disproportionate" and "brutal," wailed Bush.

True. But did we not authorize Israel to bomb Lebanon for 35 days in response to a border skirmish where several Israel soldiers were killed and two captured? Was that not many times more "disproportionate"?

Russia has invaded a sovereign country, railed Bush. But did not the United States bomb Serbia for 78 days and invade to force it to surrender a province, Kosovo, to which Serbia had a far greater historic claim than Georgia had to Abkhazia or South Ossetia, both of which prefer Moscow to Tbilisi?

Is not Western hypocrisy astonishing?

When the Soviet Union broke into 15 nations, we celebrated. When Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Montenegro and Kosovo broke from Serbia, we rejoiced. Why, then, the indignation when two provinces, whose peoples are ethnically separate from Georgians and who fought for their independence, should succeed in breaking away?

Are secessions and the dissolution of nations laudable only when they advance the agenda of the neocons, many of who viscerally detest Russia?

That Putin took the occasion of Saakashvili's provocative and stupid stunt to administer an extra dose of punishment is undeniable.

But is not Russian anger understandable? For years the West has rubbed Russia's nose in her Cold War defeat and treated her like Weimar Germany.

When Moscow pulled the Red Army out of Europe, closed its bases in Cuba, dissolved the evil empire, let the Soviet Union break up into 15 states, and sought friendship and alliance with the United States, what did we do?

American carpetbaggers colluded with Muscovite Scalawags to loot the Russian nation. Breaking a pledge to Mikhail Gorbachev, we moved our military alliance into Eastern Europe, then onto Russia's doorstep. Six Warsaw Pact nations and three former republics of the Soviet Union are now NATO members.

Bush, Cheney and McCain have pushed to bring Ukraine and Georgia into NATO. This would require the United States to go to war with Russia over Stalin's birthplace and who has sovereignty over the Crimean Peninsula and Sebastopol, traditional home of Russia's Black Sea fleet.

When did these become U.S. vital interests, justifying war with Russia?

The United States unilaterally abrogated the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty because our technology was superior, then planned to site anti-missile defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic to defend against Iranian missiles, though Iran has no ICBMs and no atomic bombs. A Russian counter-offer to have us together put an anti-missile system in Azerbaijan was rejected out of hand.

We built a Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey to cut Russia out. Then we helped dump over regimes friendly to Moscow with democratic "revolutions" in Ukraine and Georgia, and tried to repeat it in Belarus.

Americans have many fine qualities. A capacity to see ourselves as others see us is not high among them.

Imagine a world that never knew Ronald Reagan, where Europe had opted out of the Cold War after Moscow installed those SS-20 missiles east of the Elbe. And Europe had abandoned NATO, told us to go home and become subservient to Moscow.

How would we have reacted if Moscow had brought Western Europe into the Warsaw Pact, established bases in Mexico and Panama, put missile defense radars and rockets in Cuba, and joined with China to build pipelines to transfer Mexican and Venezuelan oil to Pacific ports for shipment to Asia? And cut us out? If there were Russian and Chinese advisers training Latin American armies, the way we are in the former Soviet republics, how would we react? Would we look with bemusement on such Russian behavior?

For a decade, some of us have warned about the folly of getting into Russia's space and getting into Russia's face. The chickens of democratic imperialism have now come home to roost — in Tbilisi.

To find out more about Patrick Buchanan, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.

Comments

Mr.Buchanan,it is sad to read articles like this from an ex-candidate for the US-President,but, thank GOD you lost!Sir,how much money pays you serbia/russia,for their propaganda?Sir,did you know that serbs arrived (as thieves)in the Balkan in late 6 century from russia.The Albanians were there for many millenniums before slavic thieves migrated,in that part of the world(Balkans)for which you like to comment a lot without knowing the facts...!Sir,dont waste your time writing or dropping some letters together,making people believe you know something about Kosovo or serbia,NO YOU REALLY DON'T HAVE A CLUE ABOUT THAT PART OF THE WORLD !Sir,it is about time you start getting real,use some common sense (if you have any).PS.google ILLYRIANS or Ancient Albanians or Dardania-the ancient name of Kosovo ,which means PEAR in present Albanian language.Get educated

Re: Dardan; Ya; what you said dude. But I would not consider it is over just because that Georgan President had to eat some humiliation. That story is yet to be played out; and if you want to help, go sign up with the military. Because we are incredibly close, and we have the reserve capacity, and we could close up that box, and bag the bunch. Sure it would be pushing Nuclear War; But we just have to reel in some men, arrange some logistics, and we could own the place. We aren't going to say nothing till we are ready to do something; and then they will get an ultimatum to get their Serb Russian butts off our LZ ASAP. They feel victorious. They are on their killing ground if they are not careful. Again; all we have to do is back them down; and you watch that things don't get very quiet from Iraq. We will hold the hot spots, and hand over the rest; and we will roll up the road as we leave. But I would get ready, because this isn't over yet... Thanks.. Sweeney

Pat Buchanon is 100% correct. Anyone who disputes this column is blind to what we've done.

I particularly like how he noted how we took wholesale advantage of the collapsing USSR and new Russia NOT to export our cherished democracy, but to steal and raid its wealth and put it in the firm control of Western Wealthy Elite.

The Russians were not fools, and Putin came just int time to stop the West from achieving it's ultimate goal, the collapse of Russia itself and fragmentation into many poor, resource rich mini-states ripe for even deeper, total resource exploitation by us.

Mr Buchanan: Sir, you have brought up a point that many Americans don't want to acknowledge about our country at this point in history...we exploited the Russians after the Cold War ended to such an extent that they still have not recovered...economically or militarily...So now we expect them to listen and do what we tell them concerning their security...Then we get James A Sweeney saying "Sure it would be pushing Nuclear War" in reference to American forces going in and kicking butt..when we are ready.He sounds like some locals i knew when The Cuban Missile Crisis was underway.."Yeah, we can take them...let's nuke 'em"they said. People can be such fools..i only hope no fool gets us into war..because with nuclear war there are no winners .

Pat, your article is right on the money. The president of Ga started this mess. i was wondering why Rice did not emphasize our position to Pres. S that we would not go to war with the bear, Also,most of the countries we want to support us get their energy and gas from Russia.

Good job Mr. Buchanan. The truth hurts but reality is never easy. Glad to see you get off of chewing that old right wing Republican cud and engage in some real soul-searching journalism. You did forget to mention Iraq as the great emblem of American hypocracy when it comes to respecting national sovereignty, but that's okay. You get a B+. ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
So now everybody who thinks terrorism is what it's all about in our brave new world, how about a new arms race now that Russia has the bucks to finance it and we don't? Recall it was the arms race and its price tag that helped perhaps more than anything else to bring down the Soviet Union. Now we are broke and looking an awful lot like a big overgrown beast ready to take a tumble in a world with a lot fewer friends than we used to have. ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Next time go for an A and explode the fallacy that Iraq is just like Viet Nam. Explain to the sleepwalking herd that Viet Nam war was a war for independence, and we were on the wrong side, just like England was on the wrong side of our war for independence. There we were using the washed up domino theory to justify raping an entire nation, men, women, children, and environment. Of course, then you have to point out what we all don't want to confront: that Iraq is not a war for independence but a war for oil. ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
By the way, Mr. Sweeney, if you are reading, best wishes to you too. I can't quite figure out what you are trying to say to Mr. Dardan. Can you run that by us again?

Many thanks, Pat, for your accurate and insightful article on reasons for the Russian invasion of Georgia. Aside from your comments, I haven't read, or heard, an accurate analysis of this event in the American media since it took place. Why such a reaction on the part of the media? It reminds me of the cheerleading leading up to the invasion of Iraq. We're the good guys, they're (whoever) the bad guys, and here is the government (party) line. Your service to the citizenry is appreciated, and needed. I also enjoy your comments on The McLaughlin Report, even when I disagree.

Thanks for the condensation of factors leading to the present "crisis" to understandable cause and effect. It makes Rice's statement, "the Russians are losing their credibility" into classic doublespeak. The Russians are, in fact, establishing credibility that they are prepared to protect their, "national interests" as rigorously as the US.
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Given what the US has attempted in Russia's front yard, is the re-arming and economic support of Cuba very far away? And, if it's OK for Israel to bomb weapons development sites in its neighborhood in the interest of future "national security", why should we(or Rice) confidently believe it would be unthinkable for Russia to do the same to partially built missle sites in Poland?